light in hand—(of a car, boat, etc.) easy to manage or control:
- For its bulk it is admirably wieldy and light in hand.
light of hand—skilful and swift:
- He was by far the best digger of them all; none so light of hand as he, so deft to extricate fragile objects…
Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase sleight of hand—
1. used in reference to jugglery or conjuring:
- Rudy Twomoon is a sleight-of-hand magician who has been performing publicly for ten years.
2. tricky reasoning or practices:
- They say all the right things in public, and meanwhile, with sleight of hand, they’re gutting the laws they don’t like.
See also: light-fingered / light-handed.